French Tobacco

[zankoku_zen]

This tobacco accord is soulful, earthy, and multifaceted: the scent reverberates like a deep bass note, possessing a very faint citrus-like twang and an almost animalic caramel richness.

 

Caramel and tobacco. It's got a burnt patchouli on wet, and it takes a while for the scent to drydown into a smooth, caramel laced tobacco. I sort of enjoy it on the drydown... certainly not during the first hour of wearing it.

This, however, is a fabulous layering note and I can see why its so highly coveted.

[ljaylh]

I got a tester of this from my lovely decanter, and I'm very happy about that because I hadn't bought a bottle and figured this one would just pass me by

 

When I leaned in for a sniff right after first applying the oil, I was greeted by a sharp top note - the twang mentioned in the description, I guess - but it wasn't really citrus-like.. it was more herbal, or slightly earthy - like tangy earth. Is there such a thing as tangy earth? Heh.. there is now! Overall, it smells a bit cologne-like at this early stage.

 

So anyway - that harsh top layer took about 5 minutes to dissipate, then I go in for another sniff and get the lovely golden tobacco that I recognise from so many other BPALs, but right alongside it is the brown sugar/caramel. I know from past experiences that caramel is not my friend (and the mention of caramel in the notes is why I had been happy to let this SN pass me by) - and it's doing what it usually does to me here.. turning into a sharp, nasty burny sugar smell. The tobacco is keeping up - it's really giving that caramel a good fight, but I'm not sure it's going to win. Citrus? Hmm.. OK, since I know it's there then perhaps I'm getting it - it's more a citrus haze than a citrus twang though.

 

Fifteen minutes in, and finally the tobacco has triumphed over that nasty caramel. The caramel is still there, hanging around like a bad smell (literally!), but it's definitely in the background now. But unfortunately the tobacco has gone a little bitter, which is a shame.. I was hoping it would go all warm and earthy but no.

 

If I had a bottle of this I would definitely use it as a layering note, but I'm not sure I would wear it on its own because it's just not playing out too well on my skin - I know there's a lovely warm earthiness in there somewhere, but that bitterness never quite goes away even though I asked it very nicely to please bugger off. But that's bitterness for ya - bloody rude, it never listens.

[Smaragdina]

This was an impulse purchase right before it went dark. I realize as I write this that I've never actually smelled pure tobacco before! I don't hang around anyone who smokes it; none of my many, many English professors were of the tweed-jacket Professor-Tolkien pipe-tobacco-smoking variety (curses!). I really don't know what tobacco *smells* like. But blends with tobacco tend to perform WONDERFULLY on my skin. I have a concept of tobacco as a kind of warm rich caramel-colored sweetness, that's all.

 

So!

 

In the bottle: Whoaaaaaaa, this is powerful stuff. Rich and brown and warm and almost... dare I say animalistic? It's kind of funky. There's a sharp, almost pungent citrusy undernote that's not entirely pleasant. I'd say there's a 90% chance I'm going to love this and a 10% chance said note is going to make me cry.

 

Wet: This is... wow. Whatever I was expecting, this isn't it, but I mean that in a GOOD WAY. It's rich and earthy and almost CHEWY. That pungent note-sure-if-want scent has burnt down to a lingering tangy note. I think I'm going to like this a lot.

 

Dry: OH. SO THAT'S WHAT GOOD PIPE TOBACCO SMELLS LIKE. I can't compare or reference other notes because this just smells like ITSELF. It just mellows out as the day goes on. It's smooth and very, very rich. It wafts. It enfolds. It nuzzles at you like a cat that desperately needs you to pet it and won't take no for an answer. It's not golden - it's brown, and FUZZY. This scent is a very insistent bear hug. The caramel is barely-there, just hanging around the edges, and it's burnt caramel (charred and smoky, not sugary). There's just enough of that citrusy twang hanging around to make it earthy and solid. This is strong stuff (I barely put on any and twelve hours later it's still going strong) and it's utterly lovely.

 

It's raining today, and I'm wearing old ratty jeans and a very warm oversized cardigan and drinking a lot of tea, and this is the PREFECT scent for today. It won't be perfect for every day (definitely more of a cold-weather scent). But I'm so happy I have a bottle of this. I think it'll be great for layering, too.

 

Edited March 11, 2013 by Smaragdina

[littlebeky]

Bummer. I didnt pay attention, had been planning on ordering a bottle of this once I got my luper decants so I could place a bottle order for those as well. Well, decants aren't here yet and the SN quietly went down before I could order.

 

I got my hands on a decant (thanks to Alshneato for pointing me in the right direction and Dark Alice for selling it to me!) and now the regret I felt is DOUBLED. This is SO me. A "me" scent. Only a few bottles have become staples for me and I know I would slather this on daily. It is a rich tobacco with burnt caramel slinking through. Nose-to-skin it is a little sharp and earthy. The aura of scent around me however is that sweet caramel earth. Color wise this reads as warm brown in my mind. I have had it on for about 20 minutes and it just keeps getting sweeter. A smokey sweet.

 

Bottles, bottles, where are you?!?!

[tharsei-thanate]

God almighty, this is amazing beyond words.

 

I got a sniffie from a decanter and it smells fantastic and rich and almost delicious in the imp. There's enough oil for a small handful of skin tests so I tried a bit on and it's so good. It's rich, sweet, warm tobacco and burnt caramel. Absolutely amazing. Oh, French Tobacco, why did you have to go dark?

[milo]

Deep resinous sweet tobacco. I was worried about the caramel, but it is in the background, probably responsible for the sweetness of the blend. Wait, I keep forgetting that this is a single note! Dries quite lovely, sweet and sensual at the same time. Unisex enough that it could be worn by a guy too. Great layering possibilities. I'm thinking Snake Oil or Madagascan Vanilla...Mmm.

[mymymai]

ITI: Slightly fruity and sugary tobacco. It's much sweeter than I had anticipated.

 

Wet: There's a bit more caramel to the tobacco, but the earthiness of thickness of smoking tobacco is very much center stage on my skin.

 

Dry: Earthy, vanilla-infused caramel-y, thick, and heady. It's a wonderful tobacco scent and I wish I would have picked up a bottle of it before it went dark.

[Caper]

I didn't get any citrus from mine just caramel and tobacco. I'm not sure why I expected tobacco to smell like anything different than cigarettes, but it doesn't. It is tobacco. With a hint of caramel in the background.

 

Strangely enough, this is really close to Hothrun Dath to me (thought here is no tobacco listed in the notes?), and the reviews are so different for them that I have to wonder at the differences in how we experience perfume. I have a bottle of Hothrun Dath so I don't need to get any of this, which is great since it seems very sought after.

[Yanagoya]

I am also so very confused... After hearing how sought-after this scent is, I just had to get my hands on a decant... And now I did and it smells like Santo Domingo to me. Like, 98% Santo Domingo and 2% sweeter. Which is awesome because I love SD to bits, but seriously not what I expected...

[brilliantcat]

Earthy, complex, elegant. A hint of burnt sugar, vanilla, and yes, there's a hint of citrus. I passed on this because tobacco can sometimes go sickly sweet caramel on me, but this is what I want every tobacco note to smell like. Luckily a little goes a long way so I may be able to survive with my decant. May.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Really peppery tobacco with a woodsy undertone to it and an almost chewable centre

 

Wet on me - Quite a dark bitter tobacco, there are slightly fruity undertones, but they're mostly masked

 

Dry on me - Soft, sweet almost musky tobacco

 

Overall - I love the dry down, but the wet stages are a little harsh for me, hopefully it will mellow with age

[Circaea]

Tobacco is one of those notes that I keep seeking out, hoping to find The One... but it always seems to fail on me. French Tobacco SN is fairly gentle, as far as tobaccos go (most of them smell sharp and cologne-like on me, and tend to make me headachey.) It has a sweetness to it, but mostly what I get is the sharp edge. It goes far too manly to my nose. I'm glad I had a chance to try it, but it's going to a new home, where I hope it will find the love it deserves.

[Monster]

I love trying these single notes so much, BPALs SNs are so incredibly different than any single note I have tried from other companies. They're a lot more complex and really help me to better understand certain aspects of some of the more complex scents. It's a real learning experience! If you haven't tried any of the single notes, I urge you to do so!

 

Out of the bottle, I immediately recognize this as being the tobacco from Autumn Lace. Re-reading my review, I thought this had an almost opium-like quality. Now that I'm smelling the tobacco single note, I now know that it was tobacco that I was smelling. This is unlike any tobacco I have smelled and I'm realizing the tobacco I thought I was picking out of certain BPAL blends wasn't tobacco at all. I'm having a light bulb moment over here!

 

On my skin, this is a rich, green, almost perfume-like tobacco leaf. It's lush, a bit astringent and incredibly elegant. As it dries, the carmel quality comes out a lot more and as the perfume dries, the tobacco leaves seem to dry as well going from green to a rich brown in color. The astringency vanishes leaving a gently smoky, and almost edible tobacco. I expected this to be more of a masculine smell but French Tobacco is more unisex leaning towards feminine. This is an evening scent that's probably meant to wear with a form-fitting black dress with a plunging back.

 

Out of all the SNs I've tried, French Tobacco is one of the few you could wear alone and not need to layer with another scent. This is amazingly rich and complex. I am (obviously) in LOVE with this one. I really hope this gets resurrected at some point. This really is Heaven in a bottle.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Monster

[Haltija]

My god this is the most GORGEOUS Tobacco I have ever had the pleasure of smelling

It smells like the most deep, chewy, rich and decadent pipe tobacco in the world with a sexy caramel undertone that only gets richer and smokier the more it sits on my skin. I do get the slight burnt sugar quality that others have mentioned but it isn't overwhelming or anything and it just rounds out the whole scent. I am sooooooo glad I got two bottles of it when it came out and I will most definitely cry when I run out because it is that amazing!!!!

Edited September 19, 2014 by Haltija

[LizziesLuck]

I am so stoked to have this in my life

 

 

Wet: Chewy, caramelly, rich, earthy tobacco. *eyes roll back in head*

 

 

Dry: Same. /dies

[Soupy Twist]

Fresh tobacco in the bottle. Goes on as pipe tobacco. There's a sharp note — the citrus in the listing — but that shifts until it smells like it's about to burst into smoke on my wrist. About here I decide it's missing some essential sweetness; this is clearly a single note, something which needs to work with something else. I'm not nearly as happy with this as I'd hoped to be. Had to wash it off. My father used to smoke a pipe, and his tobacco was blended and layered. I vividly remember sticking my nose into the canister and loving the smell. This is not that good.

[aylafr]

This is my favourite SN, its caramel and tobacco, with a tang at the end. I love it, its so rounded and the caramel and tobacco balance each other out amazingly.